Porfirio Gutiérrez: Man of Two Worlds

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SLOMA is proud to present Man of Two Worlds, an exhibition by Porfirio Gutiérrez, master weaver.

Gutiérrez’s woven artwork is keeping alive his descendants’ Zapotec traditions and designs—representing a culture that has been weaving textiles in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico for over 2,000 years. It is Gutiérrez’s passionate goal to preserve his inherited weaving techniques by using only hand spun yarns that are dyed with his homeland’s plants, minerals, and insects. Every one of Gutiérrez’s weavings tells a story through the Zapotec symbols that have been passed down through the ages. His choice of colors, the symbols and their order in every piece, all play into his authentic creations.

Porfirio Gutiérrez lives in two worlds, the Zapotec village of Teotitlán del Valle, known for its pre-Columbian hand-woven textile traditions that go back to about 500 B.C., and Ventura, California, where he gives educational lectures, natural dye demonstrations and hands-on weaving workshops to find appreciation for his art and enough financial validation to sustain it.